Volume 39, Issue 2,
February 2012

Timotei has launched its first certified organic range. Up to 15 per cent of the new range's ingredients are from certified organic farms, which has enabled Unilever to secure certification from Ecocert. The shampoo also conforms to the Cosmebio charter, guaranteeing consumers that the products are authentic. The range, called Timotei Organic Delight, doesn't contain ingredients such as parabens, silicones, colourants and sulphates.

Product launches from international trade shows last year revealed a growing interest in hair oil products. Recently, Moroccanoil launched in South Africa and has already caused a buzz in the local media. The product contains proteins, fatty acids, antioxidants, omega-3 and vitamins that repair damage caused by heat and styling, as well as protect against environmental damage.

Total Nutraceutical Solutions, which recently changed its name to Entia Biosciences, has filed a provisional patent entitled: A Nutritional Approach to the Use of Ergothioneine for Hair and Nail Growth. An emerging leader in biotechnology that identifies, validates, and commercialises solutions for health, beauty and agriculture markets, the company's growing portfolio includes extraction, enhancement, and uses for some of the most powerful antioxidants and bionutrients occurring in nature.

Oat Cosmetics has launched an Ecocert accredited CP Sweet Blue Lupin Peptide, which has been shown to retain hair colour-fastness for 30 washes and is equivalent in performance to many synthetic products.

Scientists believe that melanin protects the DNA in skin cells against damage from UVB rays by absorbing the incoming radiation. But the new study, which has been published in the journal Current Biology, shows that the body mounts its defense much sooner, well before it becomes apparent in the form of a tan.

Until relatively recently, skin care products designed to protect consumers from the sun were primarily made from minerals that lay on top of the skin, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which left a visible white coverage area.

Visitors to In-cosmetics in Barcelona won't have to venture too far for a break on the beach during their stay in the city this year. For the first time in the show's history, a real-life beach is being created inside the Gran Via Exhibition Centre to tie in with the event's Solar Beauty theme.

My early days as a trade journalist presented me with the opportunity to experience the packaging industry as a staff writer on Packaging Review. I firmly believe that it was this exposure that ignited my passion for all things packaging. As our packaging sector grows, I'm discovering more and more local companies supplying a variety of products I never even knew existed.